Stray
by mimajay
Summary: Count D picks up a stray in the streets of L.A. When they find out that they are meant to be more, things get steamy.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: This is the most weeaboo story that I've ever written to date. It's terrible. I can't believe I actually thought about writing this. So I'm throwing up all the chapters I've got finished to date up now, and if people like it I guess I'll finish it.**

**The only person I own here is Shio.**

Chapter 1

It was pouring rain. I had never seen the weather in LA get this bad before, and I stumbled into an alley to get away from it. Ducking into an old crate, I attempted to ball up into the fetal position, but in my drunken state my body was too clumsy to do so, and I shoved my legs back out into the rain and mud in resignation. The furry cat ears on top of my head flicked to and fro irritably, trying to dry off, as my tail twitched in annoyance at both the freezing rain and my own stupidity.

It wasn't that I was an alcoholic. No, I only drank on very rare occasions, because that's all I ever had money for. However, when I did drink, I got completely blasted. If you're gonna go to hell, do it right. And the worst part was that there wasn't any reason for it. I wasn't depressed, and I didn't even drink to get drunk. I just drank. I drank until I couldn't fit anything else down my throat without vomiting…or until I passed out. Either way, it was bad.

I felt bile rising in the back of my throat and swallowed hard, concentrating on keeping it down. Honestly, I was impressed that I even made it into the alley in one piece. Normally when this happened I ended up getting picked up by the cops or by random men out for a night of fun. Neither of them were the most fun to work with, but the latter paid well, at least. I looked out at my leather boots, soaking in a puddle. They had been expensive, when I had bought them. Real Italian leather… Of course, this was before the ban on Japanese demons buying imported materials. That being said, they were worn out. I needed a new pair. Actually, I needed a new jacket, too. Living on the streets in LA really takes the life out of a garment quickly. And, to hell with it, how about an apartment and a car? A Ferrari or a Lamborghini would be nice. Screw the apartment. Let's go for a mansion, up in the Hills, next to some hot celebrity men; Brad Pitt on one side and Will Smith on the other, perhaps. It can't hurt to dream a little, can it?

Closing my eyes, I attempted to sleep the alcohol away, but as soon as I dozed off, I was reawakened by soft footfalls coming down the alley, straight for me. Peering out of the crate and blinking in the rain, I was greeted by the bottom half of a heavily brocaded blue cheomsung, slim legs and traditional Chinese slippers, miraculously clean for the mess on the ground.

"Hello." I looked up at the voice, my vision swimming and rippling as I looked up into the rain. Shoulder length hair, probably black; the man was definitely Asian. Good. At least if this was a 'house call,' as I had began to call some of my drunken nighttime adventures, it wouldn't be so painful. "You poor little kitten. You've gotten all wet, haven't you? Come, let's get you dried off." A long, slender hand with unnecessarily sharp nails was extended to me. I looked at it for a moment in confusion and then took it, and hauled myself up out of the crate, whacking my dripping head on the edge on the way out. He lifted his umbrella to accommodate both of us and swung my arm over his shoulders, evidently smelling the alcohol and knowing that I couldn't well walk on my own. A large black car was parked in the mouth of the alley. I felt myself being lowered into it, and then I passed out.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Continuing. Really, the only thing I need here is a disclaimer: I don't own anyone here aside from Shio.**

Chapter 2

I awoke to the feeling of silk slipping against my bare skin. I groaned. My head was pounding, and I squinted as I opened my eyes. Everything swam for a few seconds, and I got a smeared glimpse of a dark red room and a figure sitting next to me. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to sleep in order to escape the headache, but a cool hand stroked my cheek and my eyes snapped open again.

"Oh, no need to look so alarmed." It was the man from the alley, wearing a purple and black brocade cheomsung with crimson fastens closing up the side. Normally this color combination would have made me cringe, but it worked for some reason. Or maybe I had stopped caring…I decided that it didn't really matter at the moment.

"Can you sit up?" I shook my head and instantly regretted it, groaning aloud in pain as I grabbed my throbbing head. The man was silent for a moment, but then I felt thin, strong hands on my shoulders and he pulled me upright, propping pillows behind me to prevent me from falling backwards. "There, that's better, isn't it. Now drink this." A steaming teacup was placed into my hands. The aroma was strong and heady, full of spicy herbs I couldn't name. Taking a small sip, I found it sweet, and as I took another, I noticed that my headache had subsided considerably. This being discovered, I quickly drained the cup, laughing in relief when the throbbing pain subsided completely. The man next to me chuckled quietly as well, taking the empty teacup from me and setting it on the table. "I'm glad you feel better. Tea really can do wonders."

I turned my attention to studying him, not even trying to hide the fact that I was curious about my benefactor.

He was Asian, as I had guessed before, and had glistening black hair that hung down in a lightly angled bob to brush his shoulders. It fell in a dark sheet over one eye that glinted good-naturedly from behind it. The eye that I could see was a deep violet color and rimmed with long lashes. His painted lips contrasted starkly with his milky skin, and the whole effect, in combination with his small features, was extremely feminine. That was, until you got to the obviously male shoulders. They were broad, and though they slimmed down to a pair of uncommonly narrow hips, one could tell that he was strong, and accustomed to doing things himself, without asking for help. My ears were swiveling back and forth, trying to take in everything around me and also trying to decide whether to trust him.

"Thanks." This was all I planned to let out for the time being, now turning my attention to the fact that I was naked in a stranger's bed. My curiosity got the better of me, and I looked up at him questioningly. "So, uh… What exactly happened… after you picked me up?"

He smiled sweetly. "Oh, well of course you're curious. I brought you here and got you out of those awful dirty clothes and got you dried off. Then I put you in that bed, which happens to be the warmest in the entire shop. You curled up right away. But I am afraid that you then broke into a very high fever; you've been mostly unconscious for almost two weeks. The alcohol in your system made it harder for my medicines to work, making the hangover stay around much longer than normal."

"Okay. Fever. Got it." I blinked again, my mind sluggish after being out for so long. "Shop?"

"Yes. I am the temporary manager of Count D's Petshop. My grandfather is away on business, so the duties fall to me in his stead."

"Huh." I rubbed my eyes sleepily, trying to think of other things that might be important. "How did you find me in that alley?"

He smiled again. "I have a way of finding stray animals in need of assistance."

I bristled, my ears flattening in irritation. "I'm not an animal."

"Oh, on the contrary. Japanese demons are some of the rarest animals to be found in the world, and with all the recent laws, to find one off of their native turf is especially rare." The damn enigmatic smile wasn't giving me any information.

"Wait, isn't this a petshop?" He nodded. "You're not gonna try and sell me, are you?" I asked with heavy trepidation and suspicion, tail bristling defensively. He could go ahead and try; I'd rip his skinny Asian ass to shreds before he could so much as put a booster shot in me. But to my extreme surprise, he shook his head, no.

"I have no intentions of selling you to someone who would undoubtedly be extremely incompetent, not to mention that you are most certainly a wild animal, not a pet. Besides, it is still against the law to sell or deal Japanese demons. And, even if you weren't what you are, I would still not put you up for sale because you are as much a thinking, functioning being as myself."

"Oh. So, then I'm a slave of some sort?" He looked horrified at the idea, his almond-shaped eyes wide in shock.

"Goodness, no! I wouldn't think of forcing you to work constantly without pay. However, if you would like to do light work to compensate for your stay, then that would be quite acceptable."

I furrowed my brows, confused. "What do you mean, my stay? I'm leaving. Right?" He simply smiled again. "Dammit, you kook, you better let me back out of here, or else…"

"My dear Shio, you cannot think that I would allow you to go back out to live on the street! You would be arrested, or picked up by strange men, or something else that I can't even begin to imagine!" He was indignant now, delicate brows slanting down in frustration, lips in a delectable pout.

I frowned as well, not able to believe just how naïve he was. "You do know that getting arrested and picked up by strange men is how I'm still alive right now, don't you?" He was thoroughly stunned, his painted mouth gone slack. "I mean, yeah, jail's not so fun, but it's a free meal and a few nights off the street. And the men pay well, even if it does suck to feel like a whore…" I looked away, uncomfortable with his staring. "Hey, look, if it bothers you that much, then I'll leave; it's really not so bad out there. Sometimes I get taken out for dinner by rich old ladies, every once in a while they even give me a change of clothes…"

"Absolutely not!" He was much louder than before, but his voice was still barely above conversational tone. "I will not stand for the people of this crude country to defile a noble creature such as yourself in that way!"

"Hey, dude, it's not like I'm the only one! Now that we can't get jobs anywhere, all of us demons are forced out on the street, excepting the ones that have made it into families or have sugar daddies or cougars to take care of them! Most of us start walking the street. It's a good way to make money for something that isn't completely unpleasureable, and we can't catch any human diseases, or get pregnant by humans, so it doesn't really matter!" Why was I defending myself? I didn't know. There wasn't an answer that was apparent to me; but for some reason, his anger unnerved me, and I was afraid that he would do something that I would get the blame for. He leaned back in his chair and pinched the bridge of his nose, wrenching his temper back under control. Though it hadn't seemed like he had barely lost control at all, I could feel the seething anger subsiding back into him.

"If I had my way," he murmured harshly, "all the men that have ever touched you would be dead by sundown." It was my turn to look at him in shock.

"Why do you care, man? I'm just some stray you picked up off the street. You don't know me; I'm just a bum. What does it matter to you that I sell myself so that I can survive?" I was thoroughly confused. It just didn't make any sense, the way that he was so upset over this. I watched him, waited for an answer.

"Why? Why…" He turned the question over in his mind a few times, biting his lip carefully. "I don't really know. It's more a feeling that somehow you're important." He looked at me curiously then, trying to figure out what it was, when suddenly his eyes widened and he whispered, almost too low for me to hear, "Oh, my." I looked at him suspiciously, but deemed the statement otherwise not worth my attention and tried to remember something he had said that had bothered me before.

"Oh, yeah. How do you know my name?"

"Your identification card." He held up the small piece of plastic. "It was in your pants pocket. Your full name is Tanatake Shiotsu, correct?" He smiled at my surprised face, the result of his perfect pronunciation and inflection. "I may be Chinese, but I found it beneficial to be fluent in Japanese language and calligraphy as well. After all, my business being what it is, and many rare creatures being originally from Japan…" He shrugged and set my ID on the bedside table, next to my sorrowfully empty wallet. "So. Let's get you a bath, and some new clothes, yes?"

I shrugged in return and looked at him pointedly. "Can I get something to wear into the bath, please?" It was said more sarcastically than politely, but he smiled all the same.

"Certainly. I took the liberty of washing the clothes you were wearing, including the undergarments. They're at the foot of the bed." Sure enough, when I looked down at my feet, there was a pile of vaguely familiar cloth. I say 'vaguely' because I couldn't remember the last time I had seen them without a good, solid coating of dirt and street grime. He stood and turned, and I stood as well and quickly threw on the pants, grabbing the boxers as an afterthought, making sure to thread my tail neatly through the tailored hole on the seat of the jeans.

"Okay, lets go." He smiled again and led me out into a dim, heavily incensed hallway. After what seemed like an hour's worth of twisting and turning through burgundy passageways, he stopped and opened a door on our right, gesturing for me to enter ahead of him. As I walked in, I was greeted by a faceful of steam and the sight of a large stone bath, full almost to the brim with hot fresh water. I couldn't help but grin; it had been so long since my last bath, or shower, for that matter. "Is it to your liking?" he asked from close behind me, making me jump. I had forgotten his presence, which I blamed on his ability to be completely silent. I smiled and nodded, and he smiled back, pleased with my contented expression. "Then I shall leave you to your bathing." He turned and walked back into the corridor, saying on the way out, "When you're done, follow the corridor back the way we came. It comes to an end in the lobby; I'll be waiting for you there."


End file.
